Whistleblower protection
The Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), which implements the Whistleblower Protection Directive 2019/1937 of the EU into national law, is intended to protect whistleblowers who have obtained information about criminal acts or misconduct in a professional context and report or disclose this to legally designated reporting offices from reprisals (such as the issuing of written warnings, dismissals, disciplinary measures, being passed over for promotion, etc.).
If you should become aware of violations of laws or behavior that fall within the scope of the HinSchG in the course of your work at the university or in connection with the university, we are always grateful for reports of this kind.
To which persons and circumstances does the HinSchG apply?
Personal scope of application
Pursuant to Section 1 I, the HinSchG regulates the protection of natural persons who, in connection with their professional activity or in anticipation of a professional activity, have obtained information about violations and report or disclose this to the reporting offices provided for under this law (whistleblowers).
In addition, according to § 1 II HinSchG, protection is extended to persons who are the subject of a report or disclosure, as well as other persons affected by a report or disclosure.
The personal scope of application regulated in § 1 HinSchG is broadly defined in accordance with the requirements of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive 2019/1937. In addition to employees within the meaning of Article 45 (1) TFEU, including civil servants, the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive explicitly covers, for example, self-employed persons, shareholders, employees of suppliers and persons who have already gained knowledge of violations before the start of an employment relationship.
Material scope
The material scope of application regulated in Section 2 HinSchG is also very broadly defined. This includes, for example, but is not limited to:
- violations of criminal law (criminal offenses), e.g. corruption, theft, fraud, etc.
- violations of administrative law (misdemeanors) if the violated lawserves to protect life, limb or health or to protect the rights of employees or their representative bodies, e.g. occupational health and safety, minimum wage law, etc.
- Violations of federal and state legal norms that have been adopted to implement certain European regulations, as well as violations of directly applicable EU legal acts in a variety of different areas, e.g. regulations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, product safety requirements, road safety requirements, requirements for the transport of dangerous of dangerous goods, environmental and radiation protection requirements, food and feed safety, quality and safety standards for medicinal products and medical devices, consumer protection rules, data protection
- and IT security rules, public procurement rules, accounting rules for corporations, competition law rules, etc.
- statements made by civil servants that constitute a violation of the duty of loyalty to the constitution.
However, reports or disclosures that contain information affecting security interests or violating confidentiality or secrecy obligations do not fall within the scope of the law under Section 5 HinSchG.
The conditions for the protection of whistleblowers are set out in Section 33 of the HinSchG.
According to this, whistleblowers within the meaning of Section 1 I HinSchG are protected if
- a reporting channel provided for in the HinSchG (external or internal reporting office) has been used,
- at the time of reporting, the reporting person had reasonable grounds to believe that the information reported or disclosed by him/her was true, and
- the information concerned violations falling within the scope of the Act, or at the time of reporting or disclosure, the reporting person had reasonable grounds to believe that this was the case.
If the above conditions are met,
- the reporting person cannot be held legally responsible for the procurement of or access to information that they have reported or disclosed, provided that the procurement or access does not constitute a separate criminal offense. Furthermore, according to § 35 II HinSchG, the reporting person does not violate any disclosure restrictions and cannot be held legally responsible for the disclosure of information in the course of a report or disclosure, provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the disclosure of the information was necessary to detect a violation.
- According to Section 36 HinSchG, any form of reprisal within the meaning of Section 3 VI HinSchG, including the threat and attempt of reprisals against whistleblowers, is prohibited.
The identity of the whistleblower is kept confidential in accordance with §§ 8 and 9 HinSchG.
Without explicit consent, the identity of the whistleblower may only be disclosed to persons responsible for receiving reports or for taking follow-up action, as well as to persons assisting them in fulfilling these tasks. This also applies to all other information from which the identity of the reporting person can be directly or indirectly derived.
The identity may only be revealed if an exception as defined in Section 9 of the HinSchG applies.
Thus, disclosure of the identity of the reporting person is not excluded in every case. The person providing the information is to be informed before their identity is revealed, unless this information would jeopardize the corresponding investigations or court proceedings. As part of the notification, the person providing the information will be sent a written or electronic statement of the reasons for the disclosure of the confidential data in question.
The processing of personal data - including its exchange or transmission - is carried out in accordance with Section 10 of the HinSchG.
False suspicions in the context of reporting or disclosing information can have far-reaching consequences for those affected, the effects of which may no longer be completely reversible.
For this reason, the identity of persons who intentionally or through gross negligence report incorrect information about violations is not protected against disclosure in accordance with Section 9 I HinSchG. In the event of such a false report, the parties concerned have a legitimate interest in obtaining knowledge of the identity of the reporting person.
Furthermore, the parties concerned are entitled to compensation for the damage resulting from an intentional or grossly negligent false report or disclosure of false information in accordance with § 38 HinSchG.
Alternatively, you can also contact the external reporting office of the federal government. Further information with the option of online reporting can be found at
https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/MeldestelledesBundes/MeldestelledesBundes_node.html
| Federal Cartel Office | Information on violations of competition law Information on violations of the functioning of the EU |
| Federal Financial Supervisory Authority | Information on violations of supervisory law |
| Federal Office of Justice | Information on other violations |
The link below will take you to the whistleblower system (Hintbox), a separate platform from the Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences. There, we also provide you with further information on the reporting process and whistleblower protection.
If you are unsure, you are welcome to contact our confidential advisors in person (in a neutral environment), by phone or by email.
Ludwig Dissinger Room G 217 04921/807-1142 | Maren Reuter Room V 209 04921/807-1014 |
The internal reporting office will confirm receipt of a report to the reporting person within seven days of receipt. If the report is delivered on weekends, Sundays or public holidays, it will be deemed to have been received on the next working day.
The internal reporting office checks whether the reported violation falls within the material scope of Section 2 HinSchG and the validity of the report. If relevant, it requests further information from the reporting person on the reported facts. However, the reporting person is not obliged to provide the reporting office with further information. The reporting office takes appropriate follow-up action in accordance with Section 18 HinSchG. In particular, this may include
internal investigations,
referral of the reporting person to other competent authorities,
referral of the proceedings for further investigation to a unit responsible for internal investigations at the University of Emden/Leer or
- to a competent authority
- or the closure of the proceedings for lack of evidence or for other reasons
The internal reporting office will inform the person providing the information about the follow-up measures planned and already taken, as well as the reasons for these, no later than three months from the date of the confirmation of receipt or, if no confirmation of receipt is provided, within a maximum of three months and seven days after receipt of the report. The confidentiality requirement and data protection regulations will be observed in doing so.
We expressly encourage you to make use of the option to report internally. By doing so, you help us to reinforce compliant behavior at the university, ensure fair treatment of others, and protect the university's reputation.
By reporting to the internal reporting office, you enable us to clarify the facts and take appropriate action.
Even after an internal report has been made, the option of making a (further) external report remains.
Complaints that fall outside the scope of the HinSchG will not be processed through the whistleblower system. In such cases, please contact the university's representatives directly.